The health insurance industry has faced backlash after the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO
There is a common theme in the wave of empathetic posts about the death of United Health executive Brian Thompson: Anger for the health insurance industry.
The CEO of UnitedHealth Group has resigned, and a familiar face is at the helm of the company. This said despite 2024, which was tumultuous with higher than expected medical costs and murders of high-ranking executives, he said he “hopes to return to growth in 2026.”
Andrew Witty’s departure as CEO is for “personal reasons,” UnitedHealth Group announced on May 13th. The company tapped Stephen J. Hemsley, CEO from 2006 to 2017, replacing the resigning executive.
Witty is no longer the CEO, but he will serve as a senior advisor to Hemsley. Hemsley will continue to be the chairman of the company’s board of directors.
“We are grateful for Andrew’s stewardship at United Health Group, especially during the most challenging times that any company has faced,” Hemsley said in a news release. “The board and I wish him the best of his leadership and compassion as CEO and as director, and for him and his family.”
UnitedHealth Group shares will decline after 2025 outlook suspension
As CEO, Hemsley said the company is aiming to return to its “long-term growth target of 13-16%.”
“Leading the people at UnitedHealth Group has been a huge honor as they work to improve their health system every day.
In addition to the leadership changes, the company said it has suspended its 2025 outlook. This is partly because healthcare costs remain “higher than expected” for many UnitedHealthCare Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. The decision led to a decline in the healthcare giant’s shares down more than 10% in morning trading.
The company’s stock fell in February when the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating United Health’s Medicare claims practices. The civil fraud investigation is investigating the company’s practices to document diagnosis that lead to additional payments to Medicare Advantage plans, said WSJ cites people familiar with the issue.
As of 1:15pm on May 13, UnitedHealth Group shares were under $320 after falling more than 15% on Tuesday.
UnitedHealth Group targets the biggest health industry data breaches of all time
With UnitedHealth Group looking to the future, many are still working on a tumultuous year for the company.
In 2024, UnitedHealth Group was at the heart of the biggest health industry data breach of history. It was under public scrutiny after the murder of UnitedHealthcare, CEO of Brian Thompson, the company’s insurance unit CEO.
Regarding the February 2024 data breaches, the company said in January that hackers had stole a record of around 190 million people in cyberattacks from their changed healthcare subsidiary. The healthcare giant’s updated figures are nearly twice the previous estimate of 100 million victims.
The violation of Healthcare, owned by UnitedHealth, disrupted the healthcare industry as doctors and hospitals were unable to collect payments for weeks when computer systems were closed.
United Health Group was criticized after Brian Thompson’s murder
UnitedHealth Group’s 2024 was once again covered in the murder of Thompson in December, with the nationwide manhunt and Luigi Mangione being ultimately arrested at McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mangion pleaded not guilty to Thompson’s murder, but his trial has not yet begun.
The CEO’s murder and the arrest of the 26-year-old sparked a nationwide debate about UnitedHealthcare and the entire US health insurance industry.
“The system is equipped for Americans who need care and those with health insurance. This is primarily due to the role Wall Street plays in our healthcare system,” Wendell Potter, a former Cygna executive who has become a whistleblower for the health insurance industry, previously told USA Today.
Defending the witty UnitedHealthcare after the resourceful murder of Thompson
In an operation by the New York Times, which was announced after Thompson’s murder, Whitty said, “…we also struggle to understand this pointless act and Vitriol directed at our threatened colleagues.”
Similarly, witty and resourcefulness made publicly aware that the US health system was “flawed” and needed reform, but he also defended UnitedHealthcare.
“We know that the health system doesn’t work as well as it should be, and we understand people’s complaints about it,” Witty wrote in his opinion article. “No one designs the system we have, and no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.”
Jonathan Limehouse covers USA Today’s broken and trending news. Contact him at jlimehouse@gannett.com.
Contributions: Phaedra Treenan, Alltubecker, Jeanine Santucci, N’Dea Yancey-Brag & Cecilia Garzella/ USA Today
